Resources

Getting Started

New Plays
9:12:14 PM EDT |
12/27/2015
Hoping To See Santa This Year
By
James Brown
|
The U.S. market delivered a nice, widespread rebound last week. Most of the major indices gained +2.5% or more in spite of only having four trading days in the week.

New Plays
11:50:00 PM EDT |
12/20/2015
Volatility Arrives On Schedule
By
James Brown
|
Stocks produced a volatile week as traders reacted to the Fed's decision to raise rates and then readjusted ahead of a huge quadruple-witching Friday option expiration.

New Plays
11:46:03 PM EDT |
12/13/2015
Time For Some Fireworks
By
James Brown
|
Fed funds futures suggest the Federal Reserve will raise rates this week. Yet doubts are growing if the Fed will follow through. One thing is certain. Wednesday afternoon should be volatile for stocks.

New Plays
11:50:35 PM EDT |
12/6/2015
Higher By Yearend
By
James Brown
|
The market has gone from asleep at the wheel with no volatility (two weeks ago) to very volatile (last week). The overall trend remains bullish but the volatility suggests investors are nervous.

New Plays
11:24:32 PM EDT |
11/29/2015
Market-Moving Fed Decision Coming Soon
By
James Brown
|
Historically December is a very strong month for the bulls. Let's hope the Federal Reserve doesn't kill the seasonal trend. Market sentiment would suggest that investors are finally ready for the Fed to raise rates when they meet this month (Dec. 16th).

New Plays
11:21:34 PM EDT |
11/22/2015
The Market Is Moving Fast
By
James Brown
|
The market is moving fast. Two weeks ago the S&P 500 index plunged -3.6%. Last week it bounced +3.2%, delivering its best one-week performance all year.

New Plays
10:07:52 PM EDT |
11/15/2015
Focus On Buy-the-Dip Strategies
By
James Brown
|
This pullback in the market is an opportunity. However, the sell-off probably isn't over yet.

New Plays
10:26:49 PM EDT |
11/8/2015
Markets Now Expect A Rate Hike
By
James Brown
|
Friday's intraday bounce is encouraging. For the first time in recent memory it seems that the stock market is no longer afraid of the Federal Reserve raising rates. After the better than expected October jobs report odds of a rate hike in December are pretty good.

New Plays
11:40:12 PM EDT |
11/1/2015
Ready For The Dip
By
James Brown
|
The S&P 500 is up five weeks in a row and up more than +10% from its late September low. Odds are rising for a pullback.

New Plays
11:31:52 PM EDT |
10/25/2015
Major Breakout In Progress
By
James Brown
|
One of our relatively new watch list candidates has broken through major resistance in the last couple of days. Shares met our entry point requirement on Friday.

New Plays
11:41:27 PM EDT |
10/18/2015
Quickly Forgiven
By
James Brown
|
Tonight's new play is another watch list graduation. Investors jumped in to buy the dip and now shares are breaking through resistance.

New Plays
11:42:36 PM EDT |
9/27/2015
We Could See An Entry Point Soon
By
James Brown
|
We are still in the middle of the worst three weeks of the year. The path of least resistance is lower. Odds are growing we will see the U.S. market retest its August lows.

New Plays
9:52:02 PM EDT |
9/20/2015
Stocks Retreat On Fed Worries
By
James Brown
|
Investors seem disappointed that the Federal Reserve did not raise rates on Thursday. If the Fed is worried so much about a slowdown in China and emerging markets then maybe investors should be too.

New Plays
11:41:19 PM EDT |
9/13/2015
Media Blitz In 3, 2, 1...
By
James Brown
|
The week ahead will be a 24-hour a day media blitz focused on the FOMC meeting. Stocks will likely churn sideways as traders wait for the Fed's decision on Thursday afternoon.

New Plays
11:57:04 PM EDT |
9/8/2015
Seeing New Opportunities
By
James Brown
|
The market volatility continues. Stocks suffered big swings last week and posted its second worst weekly performance of the year. The big moves continued today with a widespread +2.5% surge.

New Plays
11:29:33 PM EDT |
8/30/2015
Waiting On The Fed
By
James Brown
|
Cough, cough! Has the dust settled yet? The stock market is moving in extremes with huge moves both directions. The fear gauge (a.k.a. the VIX) remains elevated at 26%.

New Plays
11:41:09 PM EDT |
8/23/2015
Don't Be A Hero
By
James Brown
|
The S&P 500 has gone more than 1,400 days without a correction. It looks like that streak could be nearing an end. Do not be a hero and try to catch the market's falling knife. You could end up getting cut.

New Plays
11:31:23 PM EDT |
8/16/2015
Stocks Recover From A Surprise Yuan Devaluation
By
James Brown
|
The central bank of China surprised the global markets by devaluing the currency. This fueled fears of a currency war and definitely intensified worries over the health of the Chinese economy.

New Plays
11:01:48 PM EDT |
8/9/2015
A Successful Week for Entry Points
By
James Brown
|
Last week was very successful for our LEAPStrader watch list. We had multiple candidates hit our entry triggers.

New Plays
6:06:48 PM EDT |
8/2/2015
Tug-Of-War Continues
By
James Brown
|
The tug-of-war between the bulls and bears continues. The S&P 500 index has been stuck churning sideways since March.

New Plays
11:44:04 PM EDT |
7/26/2015
What A Difference
By
James Brown
|
Sometimes it is amazing the difference a week can make in the stock market. The week ahead is swarming with earnings announcements and could generate another volatile week.

New Plays
11:13:38 PM EDT |
7/19/2015
Celebrating With Widespread Gains
By
James Brown
|
Now that the Greece deal, Iran deal, and Chinese stock market collapse is out of the way the U.S. market is celebrating.

New Plays
11:24:39 PM EDT |
7/12/2015
Captive To Headlines
By
James Brown
|
Last week's big stories: Greece, China, and Iran, could all be big stories again this week. The U.S. markets may remain spellbound to foreign headlines.

New Plays
11:42:49 PM EDT |
7/5/2015
Where Does The Knife Fall Next?
By
James Brown
|
After five years of crisis management, two bailout programs, and over 240 billion euros in bailout funds, Greece has finally defaulted on its debt.

New Plays
11:40:16 PM EDT |
6/28/2015
The Clock Is Ticking
By
James Brown
|
This is it! We are about 48 hours away from Greece defaulting on its debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). They owe the IMF about $1.7 billion and no one expects them to make that payment on June 30th.

New Plays
11:43:21 PM EDT |
6/21/2015
Ten Days To Go
By
James Brown
|
The deadline for Greece to make its 1.5 billion euro IMF payment is June 30th. Odds are rising the country will default as negotiations continue to fail.

New Plays
11:45:41 PM EDT |
6/14/2015
Greek Stalemate Nears Endgame
By
James Brown
|
The next couple of weeks could be challenging for the equity markets. The situation with Greece could finally reach a climax.

New Plays
11:08:35 PM EDT |
6/7/2015
Transfixed With The Fed's Next Move
By
James Brown
|
The U.S. stock market produced a schizophrenic performance last week. Weakness in the big cap indices was offset by strength in the small caps.

New Plays
11:44:34 PM EDT |
5/31/2015
Focus On Greece Getting Sharper
By
James Brown
|
The market's weakness this past week was due to uncertainties surrounding Greece. The next few weeks will be critical for the country. This could generate a lot more volatility.

New Plays
3:39:18 AM EDT |
5/24/2015
Bulls Getting Frustrated?
By
James Brown
|
It was another frustrating week if you're bullish on stocks. Monday saw the S&P 500 break through resistance at 2,120 and then fail to see any follow through higher the rest of the week.

New Plays
11:46:00 PM EDT |
5/10/2015
Financial Services & Sports Apparel
By
James Brown
|
We had two watch list candidates graduate to our active play list with Friday's market-wide rally. Monday will be our opportunity to open bullish positions.

New Plays
11:43:27 PM EDT |
5/3/2015
A Successful Week For The Watch List
By
James Brown
|
April was a frustrating month for investors. The major indices did tag new highs. Yet there was no follow through higher.

New Plays
11:34:12 PM EDT |
4/26/2015
Looking Past The Dollar
By
James Brown
|
The strong U.S. dollar is an issue. Just about everyone is seeing a negative impact due to currency headwinds. However, investors seem to be looking past this handicap.

New Plays
11:36:57 PM EDT |
4/19/2015
One-Two Punch
By
James Brown
|
The U.S. market delivered an ugly session on Friday and stocks look unappealing. Worries over Greece are growing while earnings results are souring investor sentiment.

New Plays
11:48:23 PM EDT |
4/12/2015
Market Interpretations
By
James Brown
|
Big cap corporations will be blaming the strong U.S. dollar on poor Q1 results. How will the market choose to interpret this excuse and how bad will earnings really be?

New Plays
2:36:13 AM EDT |
4/5/2015
Monday Could Be Volatile
By
James Brown
|
Monday morning could be volatile as traders try to react to the worse than expected March jobs number that hit Friday morning while the market was closed.

New Plays
11:47:33 PM EDT |
3/29/2015
Another Successful Week for The Watch List
By
James Brown
|
Our LEAPStrader watch list continues to generate new entry points for investors. Readers might want to keep a close eye on the transportation average, which could lead the market lower.

New Plays
11:43:04 PM EDT |
3/22/2015
European Stocks Are Rising
By
James Brown
|
The European Central Bank (ECB) launched its QE program this month. Investors know what QE did for the U.S. market (drove stocks higher) and they're expecting a similar trend for European markets.

New Plays
11:39:24 PM EDT |
3/15/2015
All Eyes On The Fed
By
James Brown
|
The acceleration of the dollar's rally was a big story last week. This week the focus will be on the FOMC meeting and Yellen's press conference.

New Plays
11:51:15 PM EDT |
3/1/2015
This Dip May Not Be Over
By
James Brown
|
The stock market looks tired and due for a little bit more of a pullback after big gains in February. I've expanded the radar screen candidates.

New Plays
11:40:59 PM EDT |
2/22/2015
Watch List Continues To Work
By
James Brown
|
The LEAPS trader watch list continues to work. Last week two candidates graduated to our active play list.

New Plays
11:47:28 PM EDT |
2/15/2015
Epic Game Of Brinksmanship
By
James Brown
|
Stocks rally on optimism over geopolitical news and a potential deal for Greece. Is this move justified or destined to fail?

New Plays
11:56:03 PM EDT |
2/8/2015
Corporate Guidance Has Not Spooked Investors (Yet)
By
James Brown
|
Stocks are holding up well considering the large number of companies that have offered bearish or cautious guidance. Now the market will probably refocus on when the Fed might raise rates.

New Plays
11:38:19 PM EDT |
2/1/2015
Stocks Look Fragile
By
James Brown
|
Investors seem to be having a hard time digesting all the negative data points. Europe and Asia are slowing down. Yes, it's true that Japan and now Europe have launched massive QE programs...

New Plays
11:05:18 PM EDT |
1/25/2015
Stocks Could See Another Rocky Week
By
James Brown
|
The market volatility continues. The only difference last week was the volatility saw stocks surge higher.

New Plays
8:19:19 PM EDT |
1/19/2015
Markets Face Potential Land Mines
By
James Brown
|
The markets are facing two big unknowns in the next several days. Investors should be cautious here.

New Plays
11:43:02 PM EDT |
1/11/2015
Another Watch List Graduation
By
James Brown
|
One of our watch list candidates just graduated to an active play with Friday's rally.

New Plays
11:50:35 PM EDT |
1/4/2015
Is the Failed Santa Rally A Warning?
By
James Brown
|
The traditional Santa Claus rally failed early on Wall Street. This could be a warning for January's performance.